Devices for impaling, lifting and carrying large rolled bales of hay have been developed in the past. A typical rolled bale of hay contains in excess of 1500 pounds of densely packed hay formed into a solid cylindrical shape having a diameter of five feet and an axial length also of five feet. A common difficulty encountered by these prior art devices was that the bale spikes would become bent when overloaded or abused. Obvious ways to overcome the problem was to increase the number of spikes, make the spikes out of larger diameter rods or by welding braces on them. However, these solutions all increased the cross sectional area of the bale penetrating members substantially and thus increased the force required to drive them into a bale. Another solution to the problem was to use a high tensile strength rod for the main bale spike. This solution was not entirely satisfactory because when the required bracing was welded on the spike it weakened the spike itself. The weakened assembly could be restrengthened by heat treating but the cost of doing so would be excessive.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a high strength bale spike assembly in which the rear portion of the main bale spike is removably housed in a buttressed sheath projecting forwardly from a supporting backframe.
An ancillary but important advantage of having a removable main bale spike is that the overall dimensions of the assembly are reduced by removal of the bale spike thus facilatating its shipping and storage.